Impeachment Motion against Acting President Han Duck-soo Passes the National Assembly with 192 Votes in Favor... Estimated 1 Defection from People Power Party

The impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, acting as President, passed the National Assembly on the 27th. This is the first time in constitutional history that an impeachment motion against an acting president has been both proposed and passed in a plenary session.

The National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Acting President Han Duck-soo on Thursday. This marks the first time in constitutional history that an impeachment motion against an acting president has been both proposed and passed in a plenary session.

The motion passed with 192 votes in favor out of 192 present members. There are 192 opposition lawmakers. However, Democratic Party member Kim Moon-soo is currently abroad, suggesting that there was one defection from the People Power Party.

The main point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties was the quorum for the impeachment motion, which was based on the Prime Minister (majority of registered members in favor) rather than the President (majority of registered members proposed and two-thirds in favor), as announced by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik just before the vote.

“This motion is an impeachment against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. According to Article 65, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, it is decided by a majority of registered members in favor,” Speaker Woo said.

“There are some opinions on the quorum for this motion, but the National Assembly’s impeachment decision demands the removal from office, and the target of this impeachment motion is the Prime Minister.”

“The Constitution stipulates a supermajority quorum (two-thirds of registered members) only for the President,” he continued.

“To proceed with this motion, we comprehensively reviewed opinions from the Constitutional Law Society and the Legislative Research Office to determine the quorum. The Speaker has the authority to organize the National Assembly’s will according to Article 10 of the National Assembly Act.”

The People Power Party argued that since it involved the acting President, it should follow the quorum required to impeach the President. Opposing Speaker Woo’s decision, the People Power Party protested throughout the vote, shouting “Resign Speaker,” “Null and Void,” “Abuse of Authority” and “Parliamentary Dictatorship” in front of the Speaker's seat. They left the plenary session as the counting began.

With the passage of the impeachment motion against Acting President Han, his duties are suspended, and according to the Government Organization Act, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok will assume the acting position.

“In the acting system, the barely stabilized economic system and external credibility must not be shaken again,” Deputy Prime Minister Choi said, requesting reconsideration of the impeachment motion against Acting President Han.

Earlier, the Democratic Party moved to quickly propose the impeachment motion Wednesday after Acting President Han expressed his intention to withhold the appointment of a Constitutional Court judge until an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties is reached.

The Constitutional Court must decide on the impeachment of Acting President Han within 180 days from the day the impeachment resolution is received, according to the Constitution.

However, separate from the upcoming impeachment trial, the unprecedented impeachment motion against an acting President is likely to leave the controversy over the criteria for passage unresolved and headed for further legal battles.

The People Power Party, which has argued that the impeachment motion's quorum should be the same as for the President, is considering legal actions such as filing for an injunction to suspend the effect and requesting a constitutional adjudication.